Books as Songs from Fine Line by Harry Styles

Hey there guys, my favourite album of 2019 came out on Friday the 13th of December, and it is “Fine Line” by Harry Styles. I’ve been following him and his music since its early days (yeah, I’m talking about 1D) and I’m really proud to say it (it shouldn’t be otherwise). I think his self-titled solo debut was a great piece of work, and the second one is no less of a piece of art. Sure, I like some songs more than others, and one or two are not really my cup of tea, but in its complexity I found it to be a very cohesive record.
For this reason, since I like to mix my passions, I’ve decided to associate a book to every single song in “Fine Line”.
You like the idea? If so, keep on reading and let’s get started.

1. Golden – Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
“You’re so golden, I’m out of my head, and I know that you’re scared, because hearts get broken.”

How can I not think about Julian and Emma from “The Dark Artifices” trilogy by Cassandra Clare? It is set in California, and Harry itself said he took inspiration from the Californian landscape to write this song. And of course I cannot help but imagine Julian and Emma in their car rides and Julian serenading this song to Emma, cause her hair really is so golden. And they’re actually scared, their hearts can get broken more than others, because of the parabatai curse deal.

2. Watermelon Sugar – The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
“Tastes like strawberries on a summer evening, and it sounds like a song.”

Okay, I admit that this is mostly because of the strawberry thing.
I mean, Josh spends almost all of the book calling Lucy “strawberry shortcake”, so it only seemed appropriate. And this song also has that summer feeling you know? Persephone really would be proud. And romances are basically the summer reading par excellence, right? So yeah, this lovely story goes with this lovely song. Definitely one of my favourites on the album.

3. Adore You – The A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J.Maas
“Your wonder under summer skies… I’d walk through fire for you, just let me adore you.”

I cannot help but think about Rhys and Feyre for this one, especially because of the “wonder under summer skies” part. If you have read the first one, please continue, otherwise skip to the next song.
Rhys and Feyre meet at the Court of Spring (not quite summer, but you can still see the analogy), and they are under a “spring sky” if we can call it like that. Plus, Rhys would totally, without a doubt, walk through fire for Feyre. Oh, gosh, my heart, I just can’t take it. I miss them so much.
Sarah, sweetie, you absolutely certain about that Nesta spin-off, huh?

 

4. Lights Up – Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
“I’m sorry by the way, never coming back down.”

For this one I totally thought about the historical period in which this book is set. The 1980s were a time when people totally became more aware of certain issues about sexuality and identity. There were more political movements, people began to raise their voices in order to be heard and to be completely accepted. This is a marvellous book, written in a very raw but also wonderful way, and it completely talks about all the identity items which Harry (I think) talks about in this song.

 

5. Cherry – I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
“I, I confess I can tell that you are at your best, I’m selfish so I’m hating it.”

I’ll be totally honest, I really had some difficulties in finding a book to go with this song. This song is quite specific, so there weren’t many books I could compare it with. At last I thought of “I’ll Give You the Sun” and I found it quite fitting. I won’t say which characters I’m talking about because it could be a spoiler, but there’s a romantic couple in this book, and they do not talk for quite some time, so yeah. Also a lot of art galleries, like a lot of them. This book is really amazing, I really recommend reading it.

 

6. Falling – Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
“And it kills me cause I know we’ve run out of things we can say. What am I now? What am I now? What if I’m someone I don’t want around.”

The absolutely best song on the album deserves the best book ever. I won’t hear otherwise, Falling is probably the best song Harry has ever released (Sweet Creature, hun, you still my bae don’t worry), and Call Me By Your Name is one of my favourite books ever. Even thinking about the two of them together makes me ugly cry. For me this song is Elio at the end of the book, if you’ve read the book or seen the movie you know what I’m talking about. This kind of despair only comes from a really strong sentiment, from something that can only be love. You hurt so much because you cared so much, so yeah, I don’t have anything else to say, if you want to cry with me, you’re really welcome to.

 

7. To Be So Lonely – Normal People by Sally Rooney.
“Don’t call me “baby” again, you got your reasons.
I know that you’re tryna be friends, I know you mean it.”

I loved Normal People by Sally Rooney, and while I don’t think that To Be So Lonely is the best song of the album, not by every means, I also think these two go well together. It really reminds me of a certain part of the book where our main protagonists fall a bit apart, but they still try to be friends.
This one was one of my favourite books of 2019, because it was real and honest. Sally Rooney is now definitely one of my new favourite writers.

 

8. She – Call Down The Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater.
“She, she lives in daydreams with me. She’s the first one that I see, and I don’t know why, I don’t know who she is.”

I still don’t know what this song talks about (Harry, those mushrooms really hit their purpose, right?) , but the first thing I thought about is Jordan, a character in Call Down The Hawk. I can’t actually spoil anything, but if you’ve read “The Raven Cycle” series, you know that dreams really have an important part in it. The new series which focuses on Ronan is even more centred around them. And now I’m thinking about Ronan Lynch and Harry Styles at the same time. Let’s move on or it will not end well for me.
Also, “She” really is that b***h in this album, don’t even fight me on that.

 

9. Sunflower, vol.6 – Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
“I don’t wanna make you feel bad but I’ve been trying hard not to talk to you.
Sunflower, I couldn’t want you anymore, kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor.”

This song talks about cute contemporary books and summer right? Wow, Harry, you really released a summer album in the middle of December.
I chose Starry Eyes because of the line about not talking to each other. If you’ve read this book you know that at the start things are really not going well for Zorrie and Lennon, our two main characters. But the book in its complexity really is cute and summer-y, I really recommend it.

10. Canyon Moon – Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

“I’ll be gone too long from you.
Staring at the ceiling, two weeks and I’ll be home.
Carry the feeling, through Paris, all through Rome.
And I’m still thinking back to the time under the canyon moon.”

I’ll be honest, I really needed a book where one of the two or both the main characters were famous, because this song talks about being away from home for a very long time and all that jazz. And I still remember the days when Alex and Henry were apart like Harry remembers his times with his boo under the canyon moon. This book is my favourite of the year, I actually can’t wait to re-read it.

 

11. Treat People With Kindness – We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
“And we can treat people with kindness.
Find a place to feel good.”

To completely tell the truth, I really don’t like this song, but I like the message. And I wanted to associate it with a nonfiction book that really warmed my heart and informed me. I love Adichie’s writing style, and I think this should actually be a required reading in school, given the times.

 

12. Fine Line – Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
“You’ve got my devotion, but man I can hate you sometimes.”

Should I say more or do the lyrics say it all? One of my favourite songs Harry has ever written paired with my favourite book of all time. I think that Heathcliff and Cathy’s story really always danced on a “fine line”. Love and hate really merged in this wonderful story of fear, regret, but most of all devotion and affection.
Every time I think about this book I want to cry.

Okay, guys, we have finally come to the end of this article. I hope you enjoyed this type of content. See you next time, bye.